Countdown to Football: Hardin Northern Polar Bears

Although the 2020 prep football season in Ohio is still up in the air, The Courier Sports Department will conduct its annual Countdown to Football series. Hardin Northern 2019 RECORD: 8-3 overall, 6-1 Northwest Central Conference. RIVALRY GAME: Hardin Northern replaced one Hardin County rival (Ada) with another (Upper Scioto Valley) but the intensity of intra-county competition remains. USV won the first four matchups between the two schools, but Zac Warmbrod's second TD of the game earned the Polar Bears a hard-fought 21-14 win over the Rams last season. This season, for the second straight year, Hardin Northern and USV will renew their rivalry in the Northwest Central Conference opener for both teams. PLAYOFF HISTORY: Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Hardin Northern, which could not play a varsity schedule in 2013 because of low numbers, went 8-3 last year and made its first postseason appearance since ending a phenomenal playoff run in 2006. During that impressive 13-year run from 1994 through 2006, Hardin Northern made 12 playoff appearances, posted a 20-11 postseason record and beat Norwalk St. Paul 20-6 in an all-Northwest Ohio Division VI state final in 2004. The Polar Bears were state runners-up in 2002, and reached the state semifinals in both 1996 and 1997. Last year's success was especially inspirational considering Mike Dennis, who resurrected the varsity program after serving many years as an assistant coach, got to see it. Dennis lost his battle with cancer in November of 2019, just weeks after Hardin Northern clinched its spot in the playoffs with a clutch Week 10 21-14 win over Waynesfield-Goshen. INTERESTING FACT: Hardin Northern's schedule will continue an overhaul due to league realignment and the move by some schools to adopt 8-man football. Sidney Lehman and Riverside, the two southern-most members of an eight-school league that spans six counties, will be leaving the NWCC after the 2020 season and forming a new league that includes Covington, Bethel, Miami East, Milton-Union, Northridge and Troy Christian. Crestline and Ridgedale will replace Sidney Lehman and Riverside in the NWCC. Hardin Northern also must find a replacement on the schedule in Week 3 for Danbury, which has joined a number of other small schools in switching to 8-man football. 2020 SCHEDULE: Due to a plan supported by the OHSAA allowing a six-game regular season, followed by an all-inclusive playoff system, many team schedules are still being revamped.